New York, (EFE).- A report published on Wednesday by the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, United States, revealed that, between 1950 and 2011, 75 clergy members sexually abused more than 300 children, and the Diocese of Providence concealed the cases by transferring the priests, providing “treatment,” and promising confidentiality.
During the investigation, extended until 2011, over 250,000 pages of diocesan documents were examined, including personnel files, treatment reports (as the Church considered the incidents a mental health problem), internal records, and diocesan policies and procedures.
Nearly 150 of the victims, who were between 11 and 14 years old at the time of the abuse, were interviewed as well.
“Child sexual abuse in the Diocese of Providence occurred on an abhorrent, staggering scale. And as our report describes, for decades the Diocese of Providence engaged in a well-worn pattern of protecting the reputation of the Church and its priests over the welfare of children,” stated Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha in a press release.
The report concludes that the diocese failed to report the abuse to civil authorities, did not adequately investigate the allegations internally, and did not remove priests from positions with access to more children.
Although the situation has improved in recent years, Neronha added that “there remains work to be done.”
The Attorney General’s Office identified 75 clergy members with credible accusations, including 61 diocesan priests and deacons, 13 members of religious orders, and one outside priest.
The investigation led to charges against four priests: John Petrocelli, James Silva, and Kevin Fisette, since Edward Kelly died in 2022. In Feb. that year, he had been declared incompetent to stand trial for multiple sexual assault charges, and the accusations were withdrawn after his death.
Neronha highlighted that the failures of the Diocese, particularly under Bishops Russell McVinney and Louis Gelineau, allowed priests reinstated to the ministry to continue abusing.
Instead of reporting to authorities, church leaders would transfer the accused to other parishes or send them for “treatment” before reinstating them to their positions, a pattern repeated for decades.
According to the report, the diocese unnecessarily delayed the investigation, which limited some aspects of it, but the conclusions regarding its historical responses are “clear, tragic, and damning,” the Attorney General emphasized.
The document also makes several recommendations, including that the diocese fund an independent compensation program, similar to those in other dioceses, and that the General Assembly extend the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits against institutional defendants.
Rhode Island, the smallest state in the US, has one of the largest Catholic populations per capita in the country, with over 39% of its residents identifying as Catholic, according to the report.
The investigation is part of a series of inquiries launched after the scandals in Pennsylvania in 2018, where it was revealed that more than 300 priests sexually abused children over seven decades and were protected by the Church. EFE
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